Friday, March 13, 2009

Friday | March 13 | Special Proxy Watch Edition

We're on high alert for the 2009 proxy report, disclosing annual pay to CEO Craig Dubow and others; it's due any moment. Please post proxy and other comments, below, in this open forum. (Earlier editions.)

137 comments:

  1. Second idiot!!!!

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  4. Just wanted to say to the Fort Collins press crew that is being laid off that it was a pleasure working with you all over the years. You were always decent and professional and fun, too. Nobody will give you your due (you often finished in the Top 10 for quality), but it's important to know that your work was respected and appreciated. Best of luck down the road.

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  5. Why is it that I had to watch "The Daily Show" to see the kind of interviewing I wish I would see on television and read in newspapers?

    For those who missed it, watch the full interview between Stewart and Jim Cramer when it's posted on The Daily Show Web site on Friday.

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  7. Here's hoping today's thread isn't devoted to a bunch of employee infighting. Can't we all just be nice to each other?

    Yeah. We've got problems, but I don't want to see anybody else get fired, management, slacker or otherwise.

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  8. Our advertising staff was told in a meeting Monday that there would be more layoffs and they would be happening soon. Only the Advertsing department was told this, though.

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  9. More layoffs and more furlough WILL be announce before this weekend.

    Have a nice weekend.

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  10. Good morning all that are still with us at the Asbury Park Press.Rumors keep swirling ,enough is enough have the decency to put us out of our misery .Get it over with ,if you are going to let us go do it now.

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  11. Good morning all you war profiteers!

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  12. Jim....it's going to be a Great Day!! Can someone pass me the popcorn?

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  13. BREAKING: The Ferengi have agreed to purchase the Gannett Co, Inc!

    http://www.sjtrek.com/trek/rules/

    Word verification: skint
    Bwah-haha.

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  14. Awesome little blurb here on Jim's success here: http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2009/02/beaten_at_its_own_game_gannett.php

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  15. GOOOOOOOOD MORRRRRRRNING VIETNAM!

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  16. 8:00am-- link not taking me anywhere

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  17. After the exchanges here yesterday I have concluded that this is one seriously dysfunctional family.

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  18. I have no idea if last night's very specific rumors are true, but I do know our morning meeting was moved to be earlier today w/no reason given. Maybe they think we won't be in the planning mood after noon.

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  19. Trying again:
    http://blogs.nashvillescene.co/pitw/2009/02/beaten_at_its_own_game_gannett.php

    Or google this:
    Beaten at its Own Game, Gannett Considers Creating Rival Blog
    By Pete Kotz in Kotz, Media

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  21. i heard all the executives are on furlough next two weeks!!! Let the lunatics run the company!!!

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  23. Does anyone know how well Gannett's web traffic has been growing? Is it still growing by leaps and bounds like it was before everyone converted to Publicus and the standardized design template?

    Seems a valid question seeing as the higher ups are betting the whole nut on online.

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  24. Online traffic is down, circulation is down, ad revenue is down, the stock price is down, number of employees is down. Bet Criag's compensation is up.

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  25. Latest rumor:
    Hattisburg executive editor was just the first. Executive editors acrosss the company will also be cut.

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  26. Jim - why not start a mini blog on how Gannett can turn it around? - just positive ideas please. isn't that in our best interests?

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  27. Please delete spam at 8:50 AM.

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  28. I just looked at the online figures. Metromix has collapsed, Moms is up.

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  29. "...I think of this re­search as a very small piece of the big­ger puz­zle.”

    3/13/2009 8:50 AM"

    No puzzle, but perhaps the below-average size of your brain provides a clue to your inability to understand what's going on with the other people who inhabit your world and keeps you from accepting the fact that people hold values that differ from yours. Oh, and that they don't really care what you think about gay, straight or any other kind of people.

    Another gannett manager, no doubt.

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  30. Nearly three decades of healthy economic growth masked the problems unfolding now at Gannett. Low product quality, poor corporate stewardship, lack of entrepreneurial vision, and a Ponzi-like scheme of padding revenue and profit through acquisitions were, as Gannett would put it, "good enough" during go-go stock markets. The severe downturn exposed all of the company's shortcomings. Now management has the unenviable task of rejuvenating a company with heavy debt, inferior products, low morale, near-worthless stock and managers incapable of making acquisitions or developing new products (other than Moms!) to give relevance to the overall enterprise and allow it to subsidize its newspapers until their quality is vastly improved and/or they are sold.

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  31. In other words, the tide went out and Gannet got caught wanking its Bezzle.

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  32. 9:21 So it's back to the future? In order to make the newspapers back into newspapers once again so they can be sold, the one requirement is to put news back in them. If you count sports and lifestyle features, more than 50 percent of the "news" in our newspaper today involves celebrity news. People don't want to read anymore about Jens's angst about Brad (five years of it), or Linday and Samantha. With the staff depleted of reporters, and drained by layoffs and furloughs, there aren't enough people to back to courts and police. So as I see it, the bloated executive ranks are next. GCI is about to prove the industry pundits are wrong, and that you can cut your way to profitability.

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  33. "I just looked at the online figures. Metromix has collapsed, Moms is up."

    Ok, but overall, what's the picture?

    I remember back before Publicus, online was the only portion of the business showing any kind of growth. Because of this, two years ago we saw corporate really push online to the exclusion of everything else (aka: jump on the online bandwagon).

    Is that still the case? Is the plan paying off or did corporate's attempts to "fix" what wasn't broken actually flatline the growth of online?

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  34. 1:52 AM
    I've been absent from the Blog for three weeks and came back yesterday to check it out. WHAT HAPPENED? The Gannett Blog has lost all integrity. It's out of control and meaningless. I'm sure Corporate is getting a good laugh. With all the name calling and put downs it's no wonder a lot of us no longer take this Blog seriously. Just read the first and second comments of the day. WOW!

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  35. "People don't want to read anymore about Jens's angst about Brad"

    You sure about that?

    A bunch of magazines and fluff TV shows might prove you wrong and the entertainment business seems pretty recession proof.

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  36. I've got the solution!

    How about using pieces of paper and a printing press to publish items of interest (like photos and stories) to people in their local communities?

    It could start out small, like a page or two, maybe double-sided on an 8-by-10-inch sheet. One person could probably publish it once a week, maybe charge a nickle per copy?

    Kids could do it as a hobby, too. Just think how such a paper might grow to serve whole villages, towns and maybe even whole cities.

    And no debt or corporate ownership.

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  37. "A bunch of magazines and fluff TV shows might prove you wrong and the entertainment business seems pretty recession proof.

    3/13/2009 9:50 AM"

    True enough, but it's BULLSHIT.
    People want to care about what they read.

    That's the whole problem with this fragmented, disassociated nonlocal corporate point of view: "Give them bread and circuses and take their money!"

    People aren't stoopid, you know. Despite the best efforts of the mass media to make them that way. (Can you say "dumb down?") This kind of idea is why Gannett is toast. More mealy filler, less substance! Picturez of boobies and cars and baby strollers, that's the ticket! -- uh, er, no.

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  38. Calling Detroit!
    What's the latest on the dropping publication days? Has it been implemented? If not when or is it no longer in the works? If so, how is it working out?

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  39. 9:31 There is no overall pix. Internet ad revenue is collapsing, mirroring that which is happening on print. So I suspect that GCI's revenue from these Web sites is down a little because the increase eyeballs on Moms sites is offset by the decline in per-piece ads. Looks to me as if Metromix usage fell off a cliff in December.

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  40. Idea!

    get more Digital Sales Reps; and pay them more then they generate in revenue.. This was the worse idea yet especially in a down economy.

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  41. 9:50 I agree with you, and I see people buying the National Enquirer, etc. in the shopping aisles. Hell, I even read it while waiting for the shopper ahead of me to clear the cashier. But that doesn't mean they want to read that stuff in their local newspaper. Local newspapers have their niche in providing news. Besides, I already know enough about Jen and Brad to know I really don't want to know.

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  42. I can't tell if the stock widget is correct or not. But it looks like stock is way up? What's going on?

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  43. On Wednesday, our advertising dept meet with publisher. She talked for 45 minutes about success stories and sales ideas, then left only 5 minutes for questions! About furloughs, she said she has not heard from her CEO boss - because he is on furlough this week - but she thinks it is "likely" and that it might happen for every quarter this year. About pay cuts - she said no, furloughs cover that. No questions about layoffs, we ran out time!

    So we all might as well be prepared to plan for 3 more weeks off this year. With my 4 weeks vacation, plus 7 sick days and 3 floaters, that is a total of 10 weeks this year = 2 and a half months! With everyone being off work, who will be running our papers? With sales reps off, sales will go down for sure. How can you run a business this way?

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  44. The 401K Company Stock was purchased at the opening today.

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  45. "People aren't stoopid, you know. Despite the best efforts of the mass media to make them that way. "

    I'd like to think you're right, but in this age where abbreviating the english language (texting) is all the rage, and people walk around talking on cell phones while life passes them by, it seems like more and more of the general population wants their news in bite-sized crunchy nuggets rather than in-depth exposes.

    I don't like it either, but it sure seems I'm outnumbered.

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  46. Memo to all EEs:

    Go back to your foundation. People out there are hungry for local news. They don't get it from cable TV networks, they don't get it anymore from the big urban dailies who have pulled back from the 'burbs. You're being skunked regularly on local news from all the weeklies.

    Go back to the old beat system and for god's sake, have enough reporters employed to actually COVER the towns, not just fly by once and a while. You'll get readership back.

    On the whole Internet revenue thing: call an industry wide conference, put your heads together and figure it out. It's waaaay past time to stop running around like chicken little and lopping off heads in order to try to make this work. Not gonna happen that way.

    Be proactive, not reactive. For a change.

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  47. I found it rather unsettling that one of the best, in-depth articles I've read recently was from a competitor's publication.

    No big deal, right? Well, except for the fact that the article was about Gannett the new Publisher at the Free Press in Burlington Vermont.

    It had interviews, quotes, references, interesting perspectives - the whole smash.

    Reminded me of real journalism.

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  48. If anyone cares, we are not alone:

    Breaking News.....Tribune Co. is doing layoffs this morning, I don't see any news on the web yet but I did get a phone call from a friend at Tribune Co.

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  49. I wouldn't mind my EE getting cut. He's a OK guy and all, but being clueless about internet, blogs and video at this stage is damaging to the whole team.

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  50. ""People don't want to read anymore about Jens's (sic) angst about Brad"

    Maybe that was sarcasm that went over my head?

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  51. Put me on the list of people who don't care how much the executives get paid.

    Do they deserve it? Of course not.

    Still, they make what executives make. So be it.

    The $20 million we waste paying them wouldn't extricate us from the grips of financial ruin.

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  52. I don't have a huge problem with EE's getting cut. At my site, the EE walks around chatting all day and perusing the Internet and rarely does any real work. Meanwhile, the rest of us are trying to avoid having heart attacks from all the work we are being assigned. Cut the fat, I say.

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  53. Arazi -- Video... What a frigging waste of resources. For what, 250 viewers?

    No one is watching, so why do it?

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  54. Watch what you print people:
    http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/13/staples_libel_ruling_concerns_news_media_groups/

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  55. Put me on the list of people who don't care how much excecutives get paid! Actually I think they should all get bonuses this year. Double their salaries they deserve it! I neither don't care if half of Gannett's employee's are deadwood they deserve to earn a living too. I hope they don't cut anyone more. I also don't care that the executives are not taking any serious actions , besides furloughs and dropping stock dividends, while their own stocks drops further than whale shit! I just don't care much about anything where the word "Gannett" is imposed or implied. I still work there and really don't care about my job the people around me nor my supervisors! I really don't care if the whole f@@cking thing goes bankrupt and 50 or more newspapers go belly up with few survivng!!! I REALLY don't care!!!! Well shit, how did I get here?

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  57. "Cut the fat, I say.

    3/13/2009 11:34 AM"

    Just scoop out your colleagues' brains with a melon baller.
    That'll work!

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  58. Gary Pruitt to the rescue.

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  59. So it's 12:30 here and there have been no big announcements. Just goes to once again trash the credibility of this blog and enhance its reputation as a bunch of whiny fearmongers.

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  60. Holy Shit 11:59!

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  61. 11:59 am -

    There's enough to worry and be scared about right now without bringing superstition, myth and fear from the Old Book of Jewish Fairy Tales (aka the bible) into it.

    Rebuke me if you must.

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  62. OUT DAMNED SPOT!

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  63. 12:29 wrote: "So it's 12:30 here and there have been no big announcements. Just goes to once again trash the credibility of this blog and enhance its reputation as a bunch of whiny fearmongers."

    Translation: "I'm shocked ... SHOCKED!!!! that anonymous message board posters would post incorrect information! This blog is dead. to. me."

    Oddly, there seem to be a lot of people with this peculiar attitude who post here.

    In case this hasn't been made clear previously, let's make it clear now: don't believe what you read from anonymous Gannett blog posters. Hell, don't believe what you read from a single anonymous anybody, any time, anywhere. Jim is the only one with any credibility on this blog, including me, as long as I'm posting as anonymous. And certainly including 12:29 there. Sheesh.

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  64. Has anyone stopped to consider that Gannett Execs. may be the same posters spreading the rumors of "meetings" and "announcements" that do not come to fruition in order to create the aire of a tarnished reputation of this Blog?

    Unless the news is posted by Jim himself on the front page...stop believeing everything you read. The suits are loving every minute of the infighting here.

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  65. Yipeeeeeeeeeee, Gannetts stock is back to normal= nosediving to the basement! Off wit dem blooming heads!! I rebuke you!

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  66. In case the purpose of comments threads are unclear: The comment function is for commenting on items posted by the blogger. That are also commonly used for heated discussion of topics arising from the posted entry and senseless arguing among commenters.

    Any apparently factual information posted by a commenter and not by the blog owner cannot be attributed to the blog owner. Silly speculation posted by commenters is just that: silly and not to be trusted. If you have factual information, e-mail it to Jim and let him decide to post it or not.

    Any other rumormongering should be laughed at and the considered superfluous dreck that it is.
    That is all.

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  67. Gannett must pay for their sins against humanity!! Down stock

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  68. I find it so funny that people are doubting the creditability of this blog.

    1. If you doubt it, go away. Stop reading or posting here. Believe us, we will not miss you. Put your head in the sand, drink the kool-Aid and wait for your boss to piss on your back and tell you its raining.

    2. It's a blog, a place people write their oppinion, as with anything, people can have oppinions that are different.

    3. Facts on this blog are generally post through Jim. Readers send them to Jim, he reviews them and posts what he can determine are at some level authentic. If you have a fact, send it to Jim.

    4.I am sure there are some Gannett executives posting here. They have to do something, since they have no clue how to save Gannett, they will disrupt any channels to get information out to its employees.

    Jim, good job, It always good when the people you keep an eye on asses become tighter than a ducks ass(that waterproof)

    ROCK ON

    NB

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  69. 7:36: No way. Even the Ferengi have some standards! GCI stock ain't worth the paper it's printed on.

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  70. Give it up, Jim

    This blog is so infested with trolls, fearmongers and hatemongers that is no longer a viable source of reliable information.

    A for effort, though

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  71. 9:12: I just looked at the online figures. Metromix has collapsed, Moms is up.
    10:03: Looks to me as if Metromix usage fell off a cliff in December.

    Is anyone really surprised by this? It was only a matter of time, since the site contains no valuable content.

    What I have difficulty understanding is why corporate continues to carry Metromix employees who play online and BS all day, but let’s go valuable and qualified employees who are more than willing to bust their butt on a daily basis...

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  72. 1:17 Exactly. Remember all that effort we put into creating the Metromix best night clubs, best restaurants crap. Well, it was just that, and I think users saw through it and went elsewhere. I predict the same with Moms. These sites get some traction for a few weeks or months, and then drop off. So GCI is going to get consistent year-after-year revenues from this? I think not. And on top of these complaints, ad prices for Internet ads have declined so much that New York ad agencies are laying off people. We should stick to what we know, rather than dabbling in these atrocious fly-by-night sites.

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  74. Suddenly, Gannett management pukes show up trying to spread lies and misinformation. Yawn.

    Hey, assholes. I's not going to work. Your efforts to discredit the Gannett Blog are so hollow and transparent. You'll be as successful at that as you are at running a news company.

    FAIL! ha ha ha

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  75. when will the stock price match the cover price?

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  76. Think about it. It gets reported that Corporate is considering starting it's own blog to compete with Jim.

    What (better?) way to stage the premier than a war of hateful attacks on Jim, the BS of false information regarding meetings, layoffs, furloughs, etc.

    Make all attempts to discredit this blog, even if it means blanket lies and hate messages.

    Then all will go running to the Gannett Corporate Free Kool-Aid and Sheet Cake Blog.

    What underhanded and deplorable methods and people must be working at the top levels.

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  77. 1:34, You want Kudos to the unsung heroes? Why are you one of them?
    Well Kudos then. Seriously congrats to them. (They can find their acknowledgment on the Gannett corporate site.)

    But, excuse me for not being impressed by any of this. In my experience these so called "unsung heroes" tend to be the SAME people getting these awards whether it's paper wide or corporate wide. Plus, I have wonder what kind of negative impact they have on other people's jobs just to get their job completed on time and in good order.

    But hey, job well done.

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  78. Comment spam comes with the blogging business, especially if you allow Anonymous commenting. But your anonymity is more important to me than the few minutes it takes a day to hit the delete key on spam. Carry on!

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  79. To let Gannet steal or not to steal, that is the question GCI, subscribers, must ask then self s. Ah, 3.40, cents, over charge, on their bills, not once, but twice plus. Enough of this , let me tell you the story. Two months, ago, got a bill from the local paper, Mansfield News Journal, for 3.40. The news price increase. This was for PAPERS, WE HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR and received.. The girl at the other end, said the 3.40 bill was a computer,mistake, and just throw it away. Next bill, got the new price increase,32.18,(up 3.40) plus, 3.40.In other words, we would have to pay, for paper, two months, after we paid for then and the new price,. Called, they said, it was to balance out the bills, so it would end the last day of February. The Bill was due on the last day of February, and the different, of what she said would , would have been a lot less then 3.40, if she was telling the truth. After explaining it to her, she agree, and said, just tell then when I paid the bill.(I pay in person). Did, wipe out the 3.40 and paid the new rate. Ok, this two month, bill got the new rate, 32.18, plus a 3.40 add on. Same call, she said it went up. I told paid the new rate last time and you can't bill us again for papers, we have already receive, and pay for and was bill under the old rate. That like saying, you pay for your coffee, and just as you walk down the street, the waitress runs after you, and said, coffee just went up and pay the new cost. I came across a billing scam, when, Thomson owned the N.J.( They would short your bill). The nickels and dime stealing does not seem like much, but add it up among, the total numbers of bills, and you get a lot of money that is being stolen. Check your bill> If you work in accounting, for Gannett, and know of any management policies that do this on purpose, then let the local FBI know(using the mails, makes it a federal crime), or JIm or me.

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  80. To the poster who asked about Detroit--I'm not a Freep worker, just a subscriber. We get our daily paper till the end of March, then the changes go into effect. My subscription runs out March 29, not sure what the new rates will be or if I will bother to renew (after 30 years subscribing).

    It would be sweet irony if the Freep won the local Pulitzer, wouldn't it? That bit of reporting on the ex hip-hop mayor was a true public service...

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  81. I hate gay bashing, and I am straight.
    Please stop this now - we'd never let it into a paper. so can it.
    I hope Jim gets a god tech-owned blog job later - tech owned so he can't get canned. like CNET. or google news, yahoo news. etc.
    lay off the gay stuff. he's a good guy.

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  82. "Just scoop out your colleagues' brains with a melon baller.
    That'll work!"

    Hello, Wes Craven.

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  83. Dan Nakaso to the rescue

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  84. Druker calls for newspaper companies to drop print:

    http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090310_251590.htm?campaign_id=yhoo

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  85. "Arazi -- Video... What a frigging waste of resources. For what, 250 viewers?"

    My videos routinely get 3,000 or more hits, but that's because I get links posted in the places my demo roams. Our newspaper produces tons of videos that get 25 hits or less.

    Waste of resources? Damn right.

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  86. jim, thx for your efforts. i'm with you and wld really like to know if anyone has any facts regarding upcoming layoffs.

    i was laid off last sept. and am not yet employed. last job i applied for paid ($20k) less than my gannett job and 80 people applied for it, most were grossly over-qualified.

    through all of this, it is a blessing i am out of gannett where i became unable to assist my department to succeed due to constraints up the ladder. i am sorry gannett has taken the turn it has, it was once an important part of our nation's news with integrity and passion behind a good product.

    god bless everyone still trying to do their jobs at a gannett site. it has to be SO HARD.

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  87. "Waste of resources? Damn right."

    Then there were the threaded discussions tied to the stories - worked great and were ridiculously popular until the GO4 design screwed up their presentation (not to mention 1/2 the registered user's logins failed at switchover).

    Let's all shoot ourselves in the foot!

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  88. The Motley Fool posted a article on overvalued Goodwill within their financials.

    http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/03/13/goodwill-you-cant-touch-this.aspx

    Gannett is by far the worst company in the US. A full 120% greater overstatement than any other company. The headline was 3:10 to Yuma.

    The business world just continues to laugh at Gannett, as it should.

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  89. The Cincinnati Enquirer has told their carriers this week that they are going to have to take a pay cut next month. They just raised the price of the daily paper to $.75 from $.50 in the last few months, and have just raised the price of the Sunday paper to $1.75 from $1.50 in the past few weeks.

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  90. Gotta love the massive home page display problems happening at multiple Gannett sites right now. The vaunted carousels are dead. Yeahoo!! ;-)

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  91. 3:28 pm: Just gave it a quick look. My initial reaction: I definitely recommend that everyone read that goodwill analysis, and we'll discuss later.

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  92. 2:17....get a life!!!! It is three bucks. Go play in the sunshine.

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  93. Excuse me, can't leave a long message. Just read the article and I have a train to catch. The 3:10 to Yuma. I've got 10 minutes to get there. Holy cow.

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  94. 3:42
    I thought it was just our site. But the carousel is working, just not the rest of the front page.
    I feel bad for those in charge (locally)

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  95. Yeah, Corporate strikes again...

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  96. HOMO HOMO HOMO

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  97. usatoday.com is a country club... and as long as those in power at corporate remain ignorant about the technology/culture that drives the site (as well as other GCI sites), they will also remain ignorant to how lazy a fair number of those people working at dotcom(s) are. The culture of usatoday.com is to do the bare minimum, to exaggerate the time it takes to do that minimum and to display the work ethics of a typical eighth-grader on summer vacation... The site is bloated with managers who don't manage (they just want to be liked), deadlines that are beyond loose, content errors that kill credibility... it would never hold up to the standards that print once had. Simply put, it's a journalistic mess run largely by amateurs who spend more time in the gym than they do at their desks. The egos, the banker's hours, the lack of oversight... Talk about a waste of money! It's an operation fortunately propped up by the many print people who now contribute to it since the merger. But the core of dotcomers, well, let's just say they leave a lot to be desired on many different levels. The online culture is one of fun and games. They swing for the fences, won't go head first into second, and strike out a hell of a lot. The print culture is one of hard work, accuracy and speed. Some of that has rubbed off on the dotcom operation, but not nearly enough. When the two merged it was purely to the benefit of the web site. That continues to be the case. The dotcomers will circle their wagons when need be. They will deny this, of course. But if GCI wants to see where the real waste of money is occurring, look no further than right next door. Look at the web site. Does it really justify all those positions?

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  98. The Elliot Spitzer phenomenon is part of being human. For whatever reason, people who obtain power can convince themselves that the very rules they create and enforce don’t apply to them. Elliot Spitzer and his prostitutes. Al Gore flying carbon-spewing private jets. Countless others. Whether the transgressions are large or small, something clicks inside the brain of some people or entities who’ve obtained power and they convince themselves they are above the rules.

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  100. 328 Again

    Is an overstatment of goodwill some sort of Sandford/Madoff scam?



    NB

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  101. hey jim, what's your ip address?

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  102. Is Gannett still listed as a newspaper company or a manufacturer of toiletpaper? All you guys do on here is talk shit.

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  103. Did Gannett just write-off 9 Billion - yes Billion - in good will this quarter.

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  104. hey jim, take a look at this really cool presentation:

    http://www.newspaperrevenue.ru/inforev.swf

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  105. About the comment about furloughs more likely than salary cuts: With newsrooms so thin, it seems at some point the papers will put themselves in a corner because everybody will push off vacations until the second half of the year. I prefer the furloughs, of course, because at least then we get the time off with the paycut.

    ReplyDelete
  106. Very interesting:

    Post details: The latest disturbing news: 15 percent pay cut, sez Gannett
    03/12/09
    Permalink 08:41:17 pm, Categories: Posts, 397 words English (US)
    The latest disturbing news: 15 percent pay cut, sez Gannett

    This is a statement from the Guild at the Indianapolis Star:

    "March 12, 2009

    To all,

    The Indianapolis News Guild is sad to inform you that Gannett is now
    seeking to cut the pay of newsroom and building services employees by 15 percent. The lawyer for the company provided us with a one-page
    'supplemental' proposal this afternoon that he said would implement
    this uniform salary reduction either 1) at the time we reach a new
    contract with the company, or 2) at the time both sides reach an impasse and cease talks.

    This was a disappointing move, given that we thought the company's bargaining team was starting to embrace the concept of negotiating
    instead of dictating. In fact, we believe the company's actions at the
    table today raise the specter of regressive and bad-faith bargaining.

    Company lawyer Bill Behan said Gannett expects to save $1.5 million
    annually by cutting salaries across the board within the union. He said the Indianapolis Star is 'viable' and to continue to make it viable, the company must cut its expenses in light of the economic slowdown that is hurting ad revenue.

    The Guild did not respond to the proposal immediately; we asked for
    financial information so we can confirm whether the company's finances
    are as dire as claimed. Behan declined to disclose those numbers. He
    also declined to say whether this 15 percent proposal is aimed
    exclusively at the 200+ members of our bargaining unit (newsroom and
    building services) or would also apply to other employees at the Star,
    including management. And, although we have no direct control over
    health care costs, we have asked if the company will be
    adjusting/reducing premiums, as there are four 'tiers' that are tied
    to your annual salary.

    Despite this setback, the Indy News Guild believes it is far from an impasse. We were progressing on the matter of layoff language, i.e.
    how the company uses seniority when it determines who to lay off in such a scenario. The Guild believes it has plenty to talk about at the bargaining table and will continue to try to negotiate a fair contract
    for the company.

    Nothing is going to happen immediately. We return to the bargaining table in mid-April, and we'll again be calling a membership meeting soon to discuss strategy and our options. As always, stay tuned to indynewsguild.com for background and shoot us an email at
    indynewsguild70@gmail.com."

    ReplyDelete
  107. "I prefer the furloughs, of course, because at least then we get the time off with the paycut."

    Wow. What an idiot. So you welcome a week of no pay? A week of an even smaller staff trying to "do more with less"?

    Please resign from your newsroom. An eggplant can outthink you and outperform you.

    ReplyDelete
  108. RE: Detroit. The plan to deliver Thursday, Friday and Sunday will begin March 30, with an e-edition as part of a subscription. Freep.com will still be free. The other 4 days are available at regular outlets and convenient places for readers. Also same day mail available locally. The e-edition looks like the newspaper, ads, coupons and all. There are regular employee updates and meetings with management and a sharing of ideas that help the internal comprehension. And a promotion campaign in the works.

    ReplyDelete
  109. Has anybody else had to answer these questions? Our West Group President, after returning from Corporate, asked us to detail what the staff schedules consist of for all full time and part time employees in pre-press for the west division.

    ReplyDelete
  110. We were all asked for our vacation time for the rest of the year.

    ReplyDelete
  111. To my colleagues: please conduct yourselves like professionals on this blog. You give every reason to corporate chieftains to shrug at cuts when you act otherwise. To Dubow and other top officers: sadly, note what your bottom-barrel pay scale has sometimes bought you. Will further furloughs/pay cuts/lay offs help produce products that anyone wants? You know the answer. Short-term savings will not save us. Please, Mr. Dubow, come up with a viable strategy, buy a company who offers a strategy, merge or sell the company. And do it by June 30. You will not benefit from a slow ride into bankruptcy.

    ReplyDelete
  112. What's the matter with everyone?
    Why can't Gannett make less profit rather than save $$ by furloughs, paycuts, etc...No matter what it always comes down to screwing their employees out of money. We are not serfs!

    ReplyDelete
  113. "I prefer the furloughs, of course, because at least then we get the time off with the paycut."

    6:14.. why so vicious?

    it's obvious the writer meant, if given a choice, she/he'd prefer furloughs to a pay cut. NOT that he or she would "welcome a week of no pay. A week of an even smaller staff trying to do more with less"

    ReplyDelete
  114. Hello all,
    I'm not a Gannett employee. I worked for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in the '80s. I love newspapers and mourn the slow disintegration of print journalism over the past couple of decades. I live in a town with a Gannett daily. It gets worse every day. I own a publication that competes with their moms print pub and I thank Gannett every day for the stupid things they continue to do to make my publication's growth continue to soar. But I am sick at heart for the journalists who have gotten the short end of the stick with Gannett's continued greed. My paper has let go any writing talent they had. Content is now written by half-wits and inexperienced newbies who have no insight or knowledge of our community. I look at this blog everyday to see what's next. Good work, Jim. Ignore the detractors and the hate mongers. I just made my first $20 donation and it will not be my last. Thanks for listening.

    ReplyDelete
  115. In a Tucson Citizen column by Anne Denogean, about a newspaper hawker who is one of the top hawkers for the Citizen:
    "I've often wished as I've driven past Corne on the median that people much higher in the Gannett food chain had his passion for and belief in our product."

    Full article here: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/112053.php

    wv: scari. That's the paper business these days.

    ReplyDelete
  116. OK every body needs to go LOOK at the NJ blog right now,!read the hole thing and definitly look at the pics,you are going to love this!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  117. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Jim,
    You need a real job! This blog is boring and painful to read. Lot's of idiots (including myself) posting nonsense.

    We are all pathetic journalists holding on to a job that is no longer needed. I am fine with leaving. In fact, I might just quit on Monday. I can't take the pressure anymore. I would rather leave with dignity then let them take me out.

    All of you people here looking for handouts are wasting time. Do something constructive and find a job.

    I generally think you are all pussies and that Jim has not been able to find a job in this bad economy. He is hanging onto this blog because there is nothing else for him.

    Spanky is crazy to deal with you! He should dump your worn out ass!

    ReplyDelete
  119. Anonymous said...Before you quit do one more story!
    I'm going to do this anyway!GO TO MY FACEBOOK PAGE ERNIE GANT AND LOOK AT THE WALL PICS,tell ALL OF YOUR GANNETT FRIENDS AND REPORTERS AND MANEGERS, THEN GET BACK TO ME,I really would like to know what you ALL THINK!

    3/13/2009 7:50 PM

    ReplyDelete
  120. Yet 8:02 is so pathetic he still comes to this blog

    ReplyDelete
  121. 7:20:

    You are denser than lead.

    Look more than a week ahead. Once people see the paper still gets out the door with fewer people during the furloughs, then the hammer falls again.

    Some of you must not dress yourselves in the morning. I seriously think people became reporters so they could go through their whole lives with their brains turned off.

    ReplyDelete
  122. 6:14 -- you don't get it.

    "I prefer the furloughs, of course, because at least then we get the time off with the paycut."

    The OP was saying he/she preferred furloughs to pay cuts. Either way you end up with the same amount of money in your pocket, but with furloughs you at least get a week off.

    ReplyDelete
  123. Why furloughs are less likely than layoffs

    Because you haven't taken anything off the bottom line for next year. Papers (and other businesses) look closely at year-to year and month-to-month comparisons. A furlough is a temporary fix: that expense will be back next year. A layoff is better: that expense will not be back next year, and help improve comparisons.

    Sorry.

    So McClatchy is on its third round currently (10%, another 10%, and now 15%) and what, Gannett has only done two? Net, that's about a 31% reduction in force for The kids in Sacramento.

    Has Gannett made a 31% reduction in force? No, but it's a probable twelve to seven that they're looking at McClatchy and thinking "We need to be more agressive cutting costs."

    So if you're wondering if another round is coming the answer is almost certainly yes.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Ricks Cabaret in Houston is worth almost twice as much as A.H. Belo - the debt free owner of the Dallas Morning News and 3 other papers.

    The market values a chain of strip clubs to be worth twice as much as the Dallas Morning News...

    Really?

    ReplyDelete
  125. Hey, Jim. What happened to the weekly Al Neuharth tirade? I look forward to those observations as much as I do the Sunday funnies. Fridays aren't the same when it is missing, especially knowing that precious GCI funds are poured into ole Al's musings.

    ReplyDelete
  126. I just found that Gannett has a partial ownership in an aircraft owned by NetJets. It's a Cessna 680 jet, tail number N301QS. The certificate issue date is 3/5/2009.

    I don't recall whether or not they've had this for awhile nor do I know exactly what the certificate date reflects.

    This aircraft is in addition to the larger Dassault Falcon that Gannett has owned since 1999 or so.

    Does anyone know if this is a new addition?

    ReplyDelete
  127. I am so sick of the whiners on this blog. How about if one of you makes a constructive suggestion. Gannett is not going out of business anytime soon - sorry. If you really care about newspapers then you will try and save them with some good ideas. And those of you who think we need to add a bunch of people back into our newsrooms - sorry, ain't gonna happen. Got some other ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  128. 8:16:

    You're searching for clues but haven't found any.

    Furloughs are far worse because they mean a smaller staff putting out the same paper on a temporary basis. If they succeed, then the cuts likely become permanent. If they fail, then the managers can target the people who weren't on furlough.

    Try to reason this out in your peanut of a brain.

    ReplyDelete
  129. 9:52 pm: Every once in a while, Neuharth doesn't give me anything to work with; today was one of those days.

    ReplyDelete
  130. 10:58 -- Many people complain that nobody on this blog gives constructive suggestions. I ask this. Who do you suggest we talk with?

    I have repeatedly offered advice that would streamline operations in my workplace. And I've been told repeatedly that the ideas are great, but they aren't a priority. In the meantime, we'll pump money and countless man hours into new digital products that produce little traffic and less revenue.

    That's because Gannett has a history of choosing newspaper leaders who are particularly good at one thing: following the corporate lead.

    I don't know what site you work at, but mine does not value innovation. In fact, at my site, anybody who suggests that a current corporate initiative may not be the best way to do things is seen as a troublemaker.

    How are we supposed to give constructive ideas when nobody is prepared to listen? Every week I walk into my workplace and become increasingly convinced that this company will fail within the next five years.

    Not because there's no talent in the workplace but because the company doesn't have a vision. It's priorities shift from week to week, and it has become very bad at doing what it's supposed to do best.

    At our paper and Web site, listings of local events are unreliable; stories are often poorly written and edited; customer service is non-existant; even simple advertising placements get screwed up; even good corporate initiatives are executed poorly.

    There are solutions to all these things but its becoming increasingly clear that the brightest employees aren't the ones making the decisions. That's because these folks generally get frustrated and move to another company. Lord knows, I'm out the door if the economy ever turns around.

    But I'd feel bad if I ended this without a bit of the constructive criticism you asked for ...

    I suggest that anyone working for Gannett come up with an exit strategy immediately. If you don't need it next month, you'll probably need it in a year or two.

    ReplyDelete
  131. 9:24 p.m. -- I'm sure you're right about further cuts at Gannett, but remember that McClatchy traditionally ran fatter than Gannett. In other words, a 20% cut at Gannett could easily be equivalent to a 30% to 35% cut at McClatchy.

    ReplyDelete
  132. All this talk about using furloughs to determine further cuts may or may not be valid.

    Sure, if they succeed, they show that further cuts can be made. But does anybody really question this. Everyone knows that further cuts can be made. All a newspaper has to do to accomodate cuts its print a smaller paper.

    If you cut a section or two you need fewer reporters, fewere advertising sales reps, fewer production folks, etc.

    So, don't jump down someone's throat just because he says he prefers furloughs to a straight pay cut. I prefer them too.

    The company isn't doing us any favors here, so I'm not thrilled about the prospect of working 50 hours a week for less than I make now, so that it can turn a higher profit.

    Cuts can and will be made regardless of how the furloughs play out. It's easy to cut expenses in this game as long as you're willing to sacrifice quality.

    ReplyDelete
  133. Re: What's the matter with everyone?
    Why can't Gannett make less profit rather than save $$ by furloughs, paycuts, etc...No matter what it always comes down to screwing their employees out of money. We are not serfs!

    You are correct, we aren't serfs. But, really, how much money did we put up for all this. Nothing. Those who did (shareholders) do expect the company to make money. And if it isn't making a good profit, they bail to another company that will.

    Look at the stock price. Profit down, concern about our business, shareholders leave. We are left without their investment. Without it, we can't succeed or florish.

    It's an endless cycle. But don't begate the fact that if we don't make money we won't have a company. Get real already. This isn't a socialist bs country yet.

    ReplyDelete
  134. "It's priorities shift from week to week, and it has become very bad at doing what it's supposed to do best."

    Here's a constructive suggestion: Learn basic grammar or don't post.

    ReplyDelete
  135. 12:16 -- From now on I will edit each and every comment just as if it were publishing in a Gannett paper.

    Oh wait. That's what I did.

    If the grammar errors that people make typing in real-time on a blog bother you, how can you possibly continue to work for Gannett? I made a mistake and wrote an awkward sentence, yes. But I see far worse on our Web sites everyday, and those products promise professional editing.

    ReplyDelete
  136. Metromix update: not sure what markets everyone is in, but some of the Metromix markets are exploding, way over the Moms sites.

    ReplyDelete

Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

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